“Sorry! I’m late!” Zen huffed when he arrived at the guild’s meeting. Akiko and Liu Feng were sipping tea, and Sasha shot him a glare. With two highly dangerous people sitting near her, she couldn’t leave the room to find Zen as what she wanted. Thankfully, nothing happened while he was in the kitchen.

It was almost time for tea by the time Zen arrived. Everyone else gathered in Akiko’s room was wondering who the important advisor was. The guild leader and vice guild leader refused to reveal his name or ranking. They simply told them that he was the best when it came to games and strategy. They wouldn’t be able to do without him, and the meeting was stalled.

Zen walked into the room to a very tense atmosphere in the air. Was lunch not good? Why did the guild members look so stiff? He checked the time. After taking a wrong turn in the upper ranked building, Zen was now ten minutes late. Thankfully, he had Akiko’s contact and was able to get the clearance he needed to access the building. The invigilator gave him a judging stare and Zen was thankful that he didn’t give him more trouble.

“You’re here,” Liu Feng smiled warmly when he heard Zen’s voice. The teacup in his hand was discarded onto the table. “Are you tired?”

The warm tone and familiar voice made Zen smile. “A little. I have some special dinner orders tonight, so I don’t think I can stay here for too long. What has the guild discussed so far?”

Akiko blinked as Liu Feng guided her advisor to sit beside them. Sasha was unceremoniously booted to Akiko’s other side. The Russian sniper wasn’t too pleased, but she didn’t complain.

“Death princess,” someone else spoke up before Liu Feng could explain anything to Zen. “You made all of us wait for a rank #100 candidate to start the meeting?”

The person who spoke up was ranked #41, and Sasha glared at him. As someone of a lower rank, she could not speak up for Zen even if she wanted to. Thankfully, Liu Feng was there and frowned.

“Killian “Match” Von Brandt. I suggest you watch your tone if you want to survive. This guild has no need for narrow-minded people. The ranks don’t mean anything. Only true ability counts.”

At that, the room fell deathly silent. The unspoken threat was effective, and everyone remembered how the Seer claimed that Zen was now under his protection. Insulting Zen was the same as insulting the Seer, and Killian paled.

“M-my apologies,” the flame-haired arsonist stammered. “It was my mistake.”

Once Killian sat back down, there were no further objections even if the room’s tension was thick enough to suffocate Zen. The cook watched the arsonist take his seat and remembered who this person was.

In the memory cocktails, Killian was someone Zen would generally fear. His abilities were too overpowered, and Zen felt that his understanding of the world was too small. Killian had the nickname “Match”, and it was extremely befitting with his ability to set anything he touches on fire. He was a human match, and Zen couldn’t understand how he did it. It was like watching the most horrifying magic tricks as Killian burned his opponents alive.

Akiko looked at the terrified crowd in her room and decided that it was a good time for a round of self-introduction. Dogs had to be taught who the owners were, and she sent Liu Feng a message to thank him for the brilliant acting.

From left to right, excluding Killian, the guild members introduced themselves.

“Rank #92. My mafia name is “Faceless”. My ability is the ultimate disguise. I don’t have a fixed face after a horrible accident.”

Many gasps filled the room when “Faceless” removed his skin mask, revealing nothing but a horrible sight of exposed bones and muscles. Zen felt sick, and Sasha pitied him. While this was a gruesome sight even for those in the mafia, it wasn’t uncommon.

Zen remembered this person now. He was the one who hid as a tree and waited for people to come by before he snapped their necks. “Faceless” had another ability that he didn’t demonstrate. Zen knew that this person was also very flexible. He was a contortionist, and Zen didn’t know if this was an ability gained from the accident or something he trained in. Regardless, it was a handy ability for sneak attacks.

The next person was ranked #96. Zen didn’t think they would be too different in terms of abilities based on their ranks, but he was wrong. The girl with braided pigtails stood up and introduced herself as “Oriole” like the bird. Her abilities couldn’t be demonstrated, but she claimed to be a talented singer who could hypnotise others with her singing.

Zen recalled this girl. He watched her convince others to commit suicide or kill each other. The girl wasn’t very physically fit, but her abilities were definitely dangerous. He had many questions about how her vocal projection ability worked, but he chose to observe for now.

The third person was ranked #88. Zen didn’t know if they were male or female, but he introduced his mafia name as “Impenetrable Shield”. The human shield had a lab manufactured material fused with his bones. After the fusion, blades and bullets cannot do his bones any harm. This person was a walking human shield even if they still bled, and Zen was slightly horrified.

Zen knew them. He watched how merciless they were during the first battle royale. The “Shield” pretended to be weak, but when his enemies came for the kill, he would turn the tables around to bash their skulls open using his reinforced skull. Now that he thought about it, Zen was in a room full of monsters. Sasha could possibly be the only one who was human enough to be considered normal.

Akiko sensed Zen’s thoughts and blinked. She lowered her voice and whispered to him as the human shield demonstrated his abilities.

“You realise that Sasha’s eyesight and reflexes are far from human, right? None of us in this game of death are ordinary, apart from you. You can’t tell, but one of Sasha’s eyes is fake.”

Zen glanced over, and Akiko laughed inwardly when Sasha waved to Zen, happy that she had some of his attention.

Paling, Zen decided that he should be more careful. These teenagers had more secrets than they let on. No wonder Liu Feng and Akiko weren’t interested in their character profiles! Everyone had an ace that others didn’t know to survive — everyone except him.